Hurricane Irma packed category 5 winds when it slammed into the Virgin Islands around September 10, 2017. The devastation was enormous. WRAL reporter Ken Smith is from St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and was anxious to see his parents and extended family and friends.

Ken and photographer Richard Adkins were able to fly down to the islands with the ARMY 602 medical company out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The US ARMY was deployed to assist with medical needs and recovery missions.

Watch this touching video of Ken reconnecting with his mother. Plus, Ken and Richard see the devastation that Hurricane Irma left in her wake.

More Highlights for Newscasts

WRAL-TV welcomes Brad Johansen to the WRAL news team, beginning in April of 2018. Johansen will anchor a variety of newscasts alongside the current WRAL news team of Debra Morgan, Gerald Owens, Kathryn Brown and David Crabtree, who is set

Hurricane Irma caused massive devastation to the US Virgin Islands during early September, 2017.

In response, the US ARMY 602 medical company – based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina – deployed on recovery and medical mission to ST. Thomas. WRAL reporter Ken Smith and photojournalist Richard Adkins flew with the military team to document the effort.

While there, another hurricane named Maria approached ST Thomas. The 602nd medical company had to temporarily suspend their activity and transfer to a Navy ship for safety until Hurricane Maria passed by.

Thankfully most bloopers, mistakes, and giggle fits do not happen on the air. However, after a newscast – while taping “updates” to play during the evening – a case of the giggles can happen. The stress and tension of being perfect during a live broadcast is off, and being able to relax a bit often plays out in bloopers.

Chuckle along with legendary WRAL news anchor team Charlie Gaddy and Bobbie Battista from the late ’70s. In 1981, Bobbie Battista joined CNN in Atlanta where she was a news anchor for many years. Charlie Gaddy retired from WRAL in 1994.

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